Hook (A Hitman's Bait 2)

“Why would you do that? They were clean.”

“I don’t know, Maggie. I thought they could do with another wash.”

Silence ticked between us. She had to get the message I was trying to send her, right?

The woman’s face crumpled, and she burst into tears and ran out of the laundry room. I stared at her disappearing back. What had just happened?

Did that mean she didn’t get it?

Since the clothes were already clean, I had put the washing machine on Express wash. Still, I had to wait the entire cycle. It was too late to take them back out now. My shoulders slumped.

What should I do now?

Footsteps approached. Sully strode in, looking as confused as I’d felt moments before.

“Kit, what the hell’s going on?” he asked.

My face heated. “What do you mean?”

“Why did Maggie burst into my office crying to tell me she’s quitting?”

“She quit?” Oh no, what had I done?

“What happened? I couldn’t make out much beyond your name and something to do with laundry.”

I sighed. “I was trying to make a point.”

“What point exactly?”

“I told you how she always does over the things I already covered. Making the bed, even though I do it every morning. And then there’s breakfast.”

“What’s wrong with breakfast? It was delicious.”

“But I didn’t make it.” Frustrated tears popped into my eyes. “You invited me to live with you, Sully, but she makes it difficult for me to feel at home. When she does things like this, I feel like a stranger. Like a-a-a booty call who should be out of your house the next morning. All I wanted to do was make you breakfast in bed, but then she threw it all out and made a fresh breakfast. I don’t care if it was cold. She shouldn’t have thrown it out. I wanted to make you breakfast.”

God, I hated crying in front of him, so I turned my back and wiped at my tears as discreetly as possible. Sully wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my head.

“Kit, I’m sorry. I had no idea she made you this uncomfortable. I know you’ve talked about our bed situation, but I never knew it affected you this much. Why didn’t you say something? Especially after I told you I would talk to her about it.”

“She would only resent me more if you did.” I rubbed my eyes. “I wanted her to see me as more than just a booty call. She’s been working with you for a long time, and I guess I wanted her approval.”

“Silly kitten, you don’t need anybody’s approval when it comes to me, okay? I’m sorry I was too blind to what was happening. I told her to reconsider resigning and to take the rest of the week off to calm down, but if you would rather I fire her, then—”

“No.” I turned in his arms and clutched the front of his shirt. “If you fire her now, nothing gets solved, but maybe a few days apart will give us both time to think about how we can get along. I really didn’t mean any harm. I hope she doesn’t hate me any more than she already does.”

“She doesn’t hate you, Kit.”

I snorted.

“She doesn’t. We’ll clear everything up when she returns to work. How about that?”

“No, you stay out of it. Maggie and I will handle it.”

He raised his eyebrows, and I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t throw any more of her fresh laundry back into the washer.”

Sully chuckled and shook his head. “What even gave you that idea? Did you really think it would work? She thought you were insulting her job.”

I leaned forward and placed my forehead on his chest. “I saw an opportunity, and I took it. Next time I’ll think it through.”

“I’d rather there not be a next time, Kit. And for the love of god, if anything or anyone makes you feel uncomfortable here in your home, please let me know. This isn’t just my home now. It’s yours too, and I want you to be happy here.”